As I may have mentioned just a few times before, I do not like to make cookies. One of the best things about having older kids who like to be in the kitchen is that they have assumed most cookie baking responsibilities. That leaves me free to make what I really enjoy…candy! Maybe it’s the chemistry involved, with the candy thermometer and timing and sugar reacting. Or maybe I just have a sweet tooth.
Whatever the reason, Christmas just seems to be the time I make a lot of candy. This year, I’m putting packages in the mail earlier than usual, and it’s been raining and humid lately (go figure, PNW in fall!), so I couldn’t make any brittles or divinity. Those don’t work well in humid weather.
I ended up deciding on three different types of fudge…espresso, eggnog, and cherry mash. I planned to use the standard Fantasy Fudge recipe from the back of the marshmallow creme jar, but I discovered that someone used all of my semisweet chocolate chips making edible cookie dough. Apparently frequently. On impulse, I had grabbed 2 bags of espresso chocolate chips the last time I was at the commissary, so I decided to use a bag of those. Y’all…it’s delicious. Not too heavy on the coffee taste, but not as cloyingly sweet as regular fudge can be. I’ve included that recipe down below.
We’re sending packages and later, delivering gifts, to several friends and family that are one- or two-person households, so I was looking for a fun way to package these treats. Then I remembered that a couple of years ago, we poured the hot fudge into metal cookie cutters, sprinkled on Christmas sprinkles, and gave those individually with coffee gift cards to teachers. A perfect solution!
I washed and dried the metal cookie cutters and placed them on a foil sheet on a cutting board. I put a pretty heavy layer of sprinkles in the bottom of the cookie cutter, then made my fudge. As soon as it was smooth, I used a small ladle to fill the cookie cutters…it doesn’t take a lot! Then, while it was still hot, we added lots more sprinkles on top.
For the Eggnog Fudge, I used this recipe from Shugary Sweets...so easy and delicious! It’s made the same way as the Espresso Fudge, but with less sugar since it has actual eggnog in it. The recipe says to pour the hot mixture over the other ingredients in a bowl and use a mixer, but I didn’t. I just melted the white chocolate chips, rum extract, and nutmeg in after turning off the heat, then added the marshmallow creme until it was smooth. I didn’t want another bowl to wash.
When they were completely cooled, I wrapped each fudge-filled cookie cutter in clear plastic wrap and labeled them. Then they went in tins or seasonal ziptop bags to keep them fresh while shipping. They’re also cute in individual bags, with or without a coffee card attached.
I made some Eggnog Fudge gifts in cupcake papers, too, as I ran out of cookie cutters and still had a LOT of eggnog fudge to put somewhere.
The Cherry Mash recipe comes from the back of the cherry chip package. Those cherry chips are the hardest thing to find around here. I found some on Amazon, but had to pay well over market price! But it is my mom’s favorite candy…and the hooligans and hubs like it immensely, too. So it’s worth it!
With the chopped peanuts in the Cherry Mash bars, I wasn’t sure how well they would work in cookie cutters. Instead, I put cupcake papers in a standard muffin tin, and filled each a little less than halfway with the cherry mixture while it was hot. I added the same thickness of the chocolate-peanut butter layer when it was smooth and melted. After the chocolate layer cooled for about half an hour, I sprinkled on a few cherry chips, just to be fancy.
After those were completely cooled, I wrapped them in plastic wrap and labeled them individually, as well.
Here’s the recipe for the Espresso Fantasy Fudge, too. Click for the printable recipe.
Enjoy!
Espresso Fantasy Fudge
Ingredients:
- 3 cups granulated sugar
- ¾ cup butter (1 and a half sticks)
- 2/3 cup evaporated milk (not sweetened condensed milk)
- 10 oz package of espresso chocolate chips
- 7 oz jar of marshmallow crème
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Directions:
- Butter a 9×13-inch pan, or line it with foil.
- Mix sugar, butter, and evaporated milk in a large, heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring with a wooden spoon to dissolve sugar. Bring mixture to a full boil for 5 minutes, stirring constantly.
- Remove from heat and stir in chocolate chips until melted and thoroughly combined. Beat in marshmallow crème and vanilla extract. Transfer fudge to the prepared pan and let cool before cutting into 1” squares.
Yields 117 squares.
Just in case you’d like to print out labels like these. I uploaded a printable! They’re sized for a 1-1/2″ circle punch. Grab that printable here, or by clicking on the image below.
